When my son Adam was nine years old, he decided he needed to make money to buy a little scooter (although I hoped by the time he worked hard for the money, that the lesson about investing vs. spending will have sunk in deeper). So, given the combination of his interest, his age and maturity — and having just finished his first year of competitive speech and debate — I decided it was time for him to spread his wings. He sorted through several ideas on his own and he approached me to “sell” me on the idea of washing my…

We met Andy years ago when we lived in Minnesota. At the time, my wife was pregnant with our first child and whenever she pulled into the driveway, 10-year old Andy bounded over from next door to help her carry the groceries. His normal practice was to race her to open the door before she had a chance to open it for herself. He had also volunteered to shovel the snow from our sidewalk. Andy and his family had just moved in as our next door neighbors, but he had already captured the heart of my dear wife. He was…

Q: This question is related to transitioning. My husband has a job with great benefits and is making more than he ever has in his line of work, which he has been doing for 20 years. In the beginning of his career, he always wanted his own business but it just never worked out. As our oldest children are entering the teen years, going out on his own could serve many purposes: to earn income, teach the children about entrepreneurship, and develop a family business. How should we prepare for the big leap so to speak? It just seems like we should…

In my initial post in this series I suggested a step-by-step process for launching a business. This article will focus on Step 3 – Evaluate, where you evaluate the opportunities you’ve identified. (See Part 2 of this series if you missed my explanation of Step 2 – Generate). Evaluating Opportunities – In this phase, the ideas generated in Step 2 are evaluated using the criteria established in Step 1. By using this methodical process of starting a business – and with God’s guidance – you will hopefully develop a high-quality business idea that can be pursued with confidence and enthusiasm. In this phase you want to eliminate bad…

In addition to wealth generation and Kingdom impact (such as we see with the Cook’s Pest Control case), having your own business – especially a family business – can also reform the family economy and relationships. A family business can reverse the conditioning by our consumer-driven economy to spend our earnings on wood, hay, and stubble rather than invest for a future return. Further, a family business can re-integrate the family, since one of the unfortunate consequences of the industrial age has been the “disintegration” of the family as we typically go in opposite directions to work. Finally, a family working together…

The unemployment numbers released last year reported an unemployment rate in the U.S. of 7.3% and the anemic creation of 162k jobs in July down from our 2013 monthly average of 192k per month hid startling statistics of the new economy. In 2013 77% of the jobs that have been created were part-time. When you calculate the unemployment numbers with the number of Americans under-employed (working less than 35 hours a week) our unemployment rate is actually around 14.3% reports the New York Times. This is the slowest recovery in the past 70 years with unemployment rising, part-time jobs becoming the norm, incomes…

Q: What is the best way to generate startup ideas? A: I would recommend that you first establish your criteria for a successful business: Personal criteria (your spiritual gifts, your passion to serve others, your abilities, your personality, your experiences, your ideal context (such as lifestyle) and your resources); Spiritual criteria (God-honoring business concept, value-added product or service, product or service that does not cause anyone to stumble, product or service that promotes increase, high-quality work environment); and Business criteria (industry, operational, financial, product and customer criteria) Then, once you’ve established your criteria, identify various unmet needs, products and services to serve those unmet needs…

Struggling to get started on a family business? Try one or more of these types to begin your journey: Start a low-cost and low-risk business to simply to teach your family about entrepreneurship such as washing cars, mowing lawns, etc. While the cost of their “tuition” is inexpensive, the value of their lessons is greater than most college courses. Start a family investment club — teach your family (or learn along with them) how to evaluate companies and their investment potential and set up a small trading account to make trades and track investment choices. Create new family games — play fun games…

Q: I’ve had 13 years of attorney experience as a litigator with a large brand-name law firm and then as a corporate lawyer, where I just got laid off. At this point in my life, I’m interested in doing something different and would love to structure my work to have more time with my family and ministry, but I need to provide for my family. Can you suggest any ideas for me? A: You could offer your legal expertise on an hourly basis as an independent attorney. Consider building a small client base through direct selling and by posting your profile and…

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